Belt rack



June 14, 1960 e. H. CLEMENT BELT RACK Filed Sept. 19. 1958 INVENTOR. GEORGE H. CLEMENT i flT RIVEY United States Patent Ofice Patented June 14, 1960 2,940,s47 BELT RACK George H. Clement, Ambler, Pa., assignor to Pioneer Industries Inc., Darby, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Sept. 19, 1958, Ser. No. 762,020 1 Claim. (Cl. 223-435) The present invention relates to a certain new and useful belt rack and relates more particularly to a rack for displaying and for suspending trouser-belts in a store at the point of sale and for subsequent wardrobe use by the ultimate user of the belt, in connection with such belts.

In the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters indicate like parts:

Figure 1 represents a front elevational view of the belt rack of the present invention, with the belt mounted thereon, as for display in a store at the point of sale.

Figure 2 represents a similar elevational view of the belt rack without the belt thereon.

Figure 3 represents a front elevational view of the belt rack on a smaller scale, showing belts suspended from the lower end thereof as in the wardrobe use of such rack.

The belt rack of the present invention is preferably formed of a single piece of wire of suitable thickness or form-retaining character and includes a generally upright main stem 4, a lower portion 5 of which is preferably offset with respect to an upper portion 6 thereof. The upper end 7 of the stem is bent laterally and at the end of said laterally bent portion 7, an upper belt-seat member 8 is extended laterally in the opposite direction from the direction of the bend 7, with a generally inverted and outwardly inclined and shaped bend or member 9, intervening the upper laterally bent portion 7 of the main stem and the generally horizontal belt-seat 8, with a portion of the U being higher than the belt-seat 8, so as to form a shoulder 10 which prevents the upper loop 11 of the belt 12, which is looped over the upper belt-seat 8, from sliding ofi the belt-seat 8 in the direction of the U 9. At the other end of the horizontal belt-seat 8, an upward bend 13 is formed from which an arm 14 is extended at approximately 60 (more or less) with respect to the belt-seat 8, which arm 14 extends upwardly to an upper bend 15 which is generally in vertical alignment with the stem portion 6. From the bend 15, a short member 16 extends downwardly, whereby the upper end of the arm 14, the bend 15 and the downward extension 16 form a suspension-hook by which the belt-rack can be suspended from any more or less horizontal pin-like or rod-like hanger 17.

From the lower end of the offset portion 5 of the main stem 4, an inclined arm 18 is extended at 60 or less, and the lower end of the arm 18 is bent back upon itself to form an inclined U-shaped member 19, from the inner leg of which the lower horizontal belt-seat 20 extends. At the opposite end of the lower horizontal beltseat 20, another inclined U-shaped member 21 is formed, thereby to provide inclined shoulders 22 and 23 at the opposite ends of the lower horizontal belt-seat 20, to prevent, the lower loop 24 of the belt 12 from sliding off laterally from the lower belt-seat when the belt is mounted on the belt-rack in the manner indicated in Figure 1.

From the upper end of the outer leg of the U-shaped member 21, a short vertical stem 25 is extended to a point at or below the offset 26 in the main stem 4, and spaced from the offset lower stem portion 5, in the manner indicated in the drawings.

The upper end 27 of the short stem 25 is sheathed in a plastic sheathing 28 adhered thereto, having a rounded top, so as to facilitate the placing of a belt between the stems 25 and 4 when the belt is to be hung on the beltrack in the manner indicated in Figure 3.

The upper belt-seat 8 (flanked by the belt-retaining shoulders 10 and 29) and the lower belt-seat 20 (flanked by the belt-retaining shoulders 22 and 23) are in generally vertical alignment with each other; with their centers in generally vertical alignment with the upper stem portion 6 of the main stem 4 of the belt-rack and with the bight of the upper suspension-hook.

The lengths of the belt-seats 8 and 20 are preferably equal to each other and preferably equal to the width of the belt 12, although the horizontal lengths of these belt-seats may vary and may be greater or slightly less than the belt-width, because the inclined belt-retaining shoulders flanking the belt-seats permit of some latitude in accommodating the belt on the opposite belt-seats when the belt is mounted in the manner indicated in Figure 1.

When used for the sales-display of belts or for the display of belts at point of sale, a single belt is looped over the upper and lower belt-seats 8 and 20, in the manner indicated in Figure 1, with the free end of the belt extending through the buckle thereof and held in place by the tongue of the buckle extending through one of the holes in the belt (as indicated in Figure 1).

When used by the ultimate user, for hanging a number of belts in his wardrobe, the belt is preferably unbuckled and the buckles slipped or laced over the short stem 25 and permitted to come to rest in a looped-over fashion over the lower belt-seat 20 and the downwardly extending portions 22 and 23 of the U-shaped members 19 and 21 flanking the lower belt-seat 20, in the manner indicated in Figure 3. In this way, a considerable number of belts can be hung on the belt-rack.

A buckled belt can also be hung or suspended from the lower belt-seat 20 by slipping a loop of the buckled belt over the short stem 25 and bringing the belt itself to rest on the lower belt-seat 20.

Having shown and described my invention, I claim the following:

The elongated wire belt-holder for use as a merchandise display device for displaying one buckled belt looped around its below-mentioned upper and lower belt-loopseats and for use as a wardrobe accessory for suspending a plurality of belts by their buckles by lacing its below-mentioned belt-suspending-stem through the buckles thereof, said bent-holder including a generally vertical main stem having a body portion, an upper portion and a lower portion, said upper portion being bent transversely of said body portion and forming an upper transverse beltloop-seat at the upper end of said body portion, a suspension-hook extending upwardly from and integral with one end of said upper transverse belt-loop seat, said lower portion being bent transversely of said body portion and forming a lower transverse belt-loop-seat at the lower end thereof, and a belt-suspending-stem extending upwardly from and integral with one end of said lower belt-loop-seat, said belt-suspending-stem extending alongside of and parallel to said body portion to a substantial distance above said lower belt-loop-seat and being spaced laterally from said body portion, said belt-suspendingstem being adapted to be laced through the buckles of belts for suspending such belts by their buckles.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,855,132. Meeker et a1. Oct. 7, 1958 

